Ever After
by Flutiste
Summary: A love story in war time is no fairy tale.


**Ever After**

_…and so they lived happily ever after…_

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Good morning, professor Snape."

"Good morning, professor Snape."

"Good morning, professor Snape."

"Hum."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"…Dear child, he is not suitable for you, he… I cannot talk about the specifics, but…"

"Do you want to talk about his age, his disagreeable personality or his occupation in life? I can accept all of these."

"That's not all, my child…"

"Or do you want to dissuade me based on the fact that his has and still is in love with someone else?"

"Oh miss Granger, but that is not the important point. The fact is that…"

"Professor Dumbledore, please say no more. I am a proper miss Know-It-All after all. I will not disgrace any of us by taking action, and there is no school rule which prevent a pupil from being secretly in love with a member of the staff."

"Miss Granger…"

"And of course, I am perfectly aware about my own imperfections, so I wouldn't be making any advance on him either."

"Miss Granger! You know that is not I mean! My dear, you deserver…"

"Deserve what? Why have you stopped? Are you going to say that I deserve better? Professor Dumbledore – much as I respect you – please never speak of him in this way again in my presence: he is the best."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Miss Granger, you are the only person I can trust in this matter."

"But, Headmaster! There is surely someone else more experienced than me who can work with professor Snape…"

"But only you will be able to speak with him reasonably… After all that will happen…"

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"So I suppose I will have no other choice but to be stuck with you. I hope you will not be quite so… opinionated… as you usually are in class."

"…Sir, I shall be really quiet."

"I hope you will."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus! Please calm down!"

"Calm down? I have done everything asked of me, Dumbledore, isn't that enough? You shouldn't have pulled her down this path too!"

"Why are you so agitated, Severus? Are you…"

"What are you implying, old man! She is only a child!"

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"You imbecile foolish girl, do you know what have you agreed to?"

"I…"

"Have you ever thought in your Gryffindor optimism that you might never be able to walk under daylight after this? That you might be banished from your little group of friends and be treated like the dirt under their boots? What about your future, girl, have you ever considered all the consequences when you complied with his order!"

"What are you talking about, sir?"

"Don't pretend to be stupid, girl, as if you didn't agreed to… wait, what did he asked from you?"

"He only told me to trust you no matter what, professor Snape."

"Have you learnt nothing from me? Never agree to other people's request so easily, especially when the terms he used are so unclear! Or, is it only because he is Dumbledore?"

"No, professor. Actually, I agreed, because I would trust you no matter what even if it wasn't required by him."

"You give your trust too easily, Miss Granger!"

"No, sir. It is only because the person is you."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Professor… can we be together once the war is finished?"

"… sure."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"You are wounded!"

"It is not as bad as it looks."

"Not as bad? Two Sectumsempra, and one Crucio! If I had been there one minute later, you might have passed away from blood loss!"

"Shhh… can't you be more gentle, witch! Do you want to strangle me with the bandage?"

"You deserve it. …Tell me, who did it?"

"You won't want to know, Granger."

"Tell me."

"… Who else can it be? It is Potter, of course."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Sir, I love you."

"I know."

"Do you love me?"

"…"

"Whatever, I just want to let you know that I love you."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus, what are you going to do after the war?"

"Be headmaster of Hogwarts again."

"Oh, stop that. I know that you would better like to strangle each of the students of the school by now, one by one."

"I am honoured to know that you know me so well, miss Granger. …Is it so obvious?"

"Oh, very obvious."

"You are such an optimist, girl. The after battle is too far in time, I do not want to give myself that hope."

"…You are an idiot!"

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Professor, do you love me?"

"Why are you asking that again?"

"Why can't you say you love me, even once?"

"Enough, miss Granger! I don't want to argue with you, especially now."

"…Severus…"

"…It's time to sleep, Hermione."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"After the war, I want to be a lawyer."

"Not a healer?"

"I do want to learn about healing spells, but a lawyer is far more useful."

"Whichever you choose, anything is better than being the ministry's dog."

"Ha, too true. I shall help the Malfoys and other Slytherin families get out of Azkaban – you know they would be out of there anyway, so I should at least take advantage of their fortune. Then I can use the money to build up my fame, do charity work or whatever…"

"Tsk, how positively Slytherin of you, miss Granger."

"Thank you very much, my dear, but I shall still insist that I am only being a good Gryffindor."

"…"

"Then you can open a potion shop, Severus, or we can open a laboratory, and you can do experiments every day, about potion or even the dark arts, for the matter. Then we can buy a house, and plant some exotic plants in our garden. And get a partner for Crookshank. We can even write some books, like "To Teach The Art of Potion Making To Dunderheads", or "The Complete Adventure of Harry Potter". Then, after some years, maybe we can get bored enough by the life after the war that we would want to have a child or two…"

"And maybe you would like to have a dog, too?"

"If you say so…"

"Oh, no, please, Granger, no."

"You put the idea in my mind."

"… Then, if we both survive, maybe."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus, I love you."

"You said so often enough."

"I am serious, Severus."

"… I know."

"I love you."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus, please try to survive."

"…"

"Do you hear me!"

"I don't remember giving you the right to influence my life."

"Yes, I don't have the right to! But Severus, have you never seriously thought about… oh…"

"Hermione, please do not cry…"

"…Why? You promised… you promised that we would be together after the war…"

"I am sorry, Hermione."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus, I love you."

"Hum."

"I love you."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Severus, I love you."

"Oh."

"Truly, I do love you."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Stay here, and don't run around!"

"Idiot! This is the last battle. How can I hide in the castle, like a coward, when everyone else is fighting?"

"Your presence wouldn't do any good on the battlefield!"

"What are you talking about! Have you forgotten who destroyed most of the Horcrux over the years?"

"…I am sorry, I was only worried about you. Please, stay here, please."

"Severus… If it had been only for us, I would, but I cannot. I am not only a girl in her twenties, a Know-It-All, I am also part of the golden trio, the "Brain", the lioness of Gryffindor, I cannot be so selfish. It is my responsibility to fight beside Harry, as it is yours to be beside the Dark Lord."

"I despise the Gryffindor part of you sometime."

"But that is part of me, Severus… Do be careful. If you are careful, I shall be too. If you won't die, I won't either."

"Hermione… We must go."

"Thank you, Severus."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Hermione!"

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"How is she?"

"Not well."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Mister Snape, you may go see her for the last time."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"She loved you."

"…"

"She was constantly talking about you, like a little girl who is in love for the first time. I don't understand what she saw in you, truly, but I am her only female friend, so… Hermione wouldn't want to see you go wasted like this – slowly killing yourself."

"She shouldn't have saved me. She was so young. She had a bright future in front of her, she shouldn't have wasted her life on me."

"That is her choice. She was willing to do anything for you. I would too, for Harry."

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Hermione, we buried Snape with you, I hope you won't mind much about it. Have I ever told you that he became a great textbook writer before? They were all dedicated to you, whether it was about DADA or potion. To tell the truth, his famous "To Teach The Art of Potion Making To Dunderheads" is really well written, and that's the textbook my granddaughter is using at Hogwarts... Oh, and this is Sirius, his dog. I always thought that he never appreciated the dog much, and I really cannot think of a reason for which he was willing to adopt him, but then he was really nice to Crookshank The Third. Oh, before I forgot… this is a letter we found in his will, and it is addressed to you – we only found it today."

The sent of burnt parchment spread across the cold autumn breeze, and then there was a subtle sent of fresh apple mixed with the smell of dried medicinal herbs.

One could swear that the faint sound of a woman's laughter could be heard.

_Hermione, I am sorry. I never told you how much I loved you._


End file.
